Door-operating mechanism and the like



Sept. 1, 1925.

G. B. DOREY DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM AND THE LIKE 2 Sheta-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 14, 1923 w 4 R w R N Z M may E 5 |||l| m W m Q N G 3 R ww Sept l, I 925.

G. B. DOREY DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 14, 1925 2 Shoots-Sheet 2 lNvENToR c EORGE B. COREY H15 ATTORNEY WITNESSES fi m Patented Sept. 1, 1925.

1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE DOREY, or eHIoiieo, ILLINOIS,

A CQRPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DOOR-OEERATING MECHANISM- AND TILE LIKE.

Application filed December 14,1923. Serial No. 680,687.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, GEORGE E. Donny, a subject of the King of Great Britain, re-

siding at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door- Operating Mechanisms and the like, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

I This invention relates to improvements in car door operating mechanisms and the like.

The invention is especially adapted for drop bottom cars having a bodily movable door raising shaft adapted to be reciprocated by rotation thereof. 7

My invention relates more particularly to the novel devices employed for rotating the shaft by means of an oscillating member pivotally mounted on the car structure andindependently of the shaft. I-Ieretofore shaft rotating means have been disposed directly on the end of the movable shaft, but inasmuch as such parts travel with the shaft, the operator is liable to injury during the releasing operation of thedoors when the shaft is moved with great violence under thev influence of the discharging load. This invention overcomes the disadvantage referred to by operating the shaft .by means which are independent of the same. M

A specific object of the invention is to provide a mechanism which may be readily applied to the carand operated in a restricted space, thereby permitting the application of the same beneath the car floor and within the plane of the carend walls without unduly sacrificing dumping area in the floor of the car. 7 I

Further, my invention resides incertain novel construction of parts and novel combination of the parts, as will be morefully pointed out hereinafter.

My invention is more or less in the nature of an improvement on certain devicesdisclosed in' the co-pending application of Argyle Campbell, Serial No. 677,870, assignedto the same assignee, and Itherefore makeno claim to those improvements forming the basis of theclaims in said Campbell application. 7 v v In the drawings. forming a part'of this specification, Figure 1- is an elevational View of a portion of a car showing my invention applied to a dump car of the general service type- As will be understood by those skilled in the art, I have only, illustrated sutlicient of the car structure and door operating 'mechanism necessary to explain the invention. In actual practice, there will ordinarily be a plurality of doors cooperable with a single shaft and preferably two flexible connections or chains and associated elements with each door.v Figure 2 is a side elevational View of that portion of the car which includes the operating mechanism and associated parts shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on a line corresponding substantially to line 33 of F igurel. Figure f is a view of that part of the car'shown in Figure 1 which illustrates the operating mechanism except that it shows the position of theoperating pawl and associated parts in position after the shaft is partly dislodged from its locking position beneaththe door. Figure 5 is a detail View of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale showing the mechanism in two different operatingpositions when the door is partly opened. Figure 6 is a perspective View of'a stationary bearing. And Figure is a perspective view of a pivoted, oscillating toggle arm employed in my construction. In said drawings, the invention is applied to a gondola type of car having a side wall 10 formed with a'downwardly. sloping side portion 11 and having the lower margin thereof formed with an edge plate 12. The end wall 13 of the car is preferably formed with a vertical flange 14: bent around to a position inthe plane of the side wall 10 and secured thereto, the lower margin of said end wall being stiffened by .means of a member which is preferably formed angle shaped with one flange 15 secured to the end wall and the other flange 16 forming a portion of the floor, the flange l6 constituting an edge plate for the end wall of the car. Said flange 16 and the edge plate 12 of the side wall are preferably extended to overlap each other and are securely riveted together The respective side and end walls are connected together on their inner faces by means of an angle member 18. p

The underframe of the car includes a cen tersill 19 to which a series of dump doors 20 are pivotally mounted by means of hinge brackets 21, secured to the center sill. In Figure 2' of the drawing, I have shown only v ASSIGNOR TO ENTERPRISE RAILWAY EQUIP MENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

a portion of the endmost dump door 20, which is so formed and proportioned as to slightly overlap the edge plates of the side and end walls. N ear the outer edge of said door (and each of the other doors of the car not illustrated) are secured brackets 22, each of the latter having a rounded and serrated face 23, as best shown in Fig. 1. Connection is made between a longitudinally extending shaft 24 and each of the doors by means of flexible elements of which there are preferably two associated with each door. 011 the shaft and opposite each bracket 22 and co-operable withthe serrated faces 23 thereof, are serrated wheels 26 rigidly secured to said shaft and preferably formed integrally with a grooved collar 27 on which the flexible elements 25 are adapted to wind.

The door shaft 24 is supported in bearing plates 28, each formed with an elongated slot 29 (see Fig. 5) having a depression at the outer end thereof. The mechanism associated with the operation of the shaft includes a device for rotating the shaft and also a devic for securing the same against unintentional reverse rotation thereof during the raising operation of the doors and for positively locking the shaft in supporting position beneath the doors.

The device for imparting rotation to the shaft consists of mechanism pivotally mounted on the car structure independently of the shaft but coopera-ble therewith through the medium of a ratchet wheel 30 secured to the said shaft and preferably near the outer end thereof. The said actuating means for th shaft. broadly consists of an oscillating member 32 pivotally mounted on a bracket 31 and two pawls 33 mounted on the said member 32 and cooperable with the ratchet wheel 30, both of said pawls 33 being preferably mounted on a common pivot 34 extending between spaced vertical walls 35-- 35 (see Fig. 7) formed on'thesaid member 32. Each of said pawls 33 is suitably stiffened by a web portion 36 disposed at one side of the pawl and so located as to lie to one side of the ratchet wheel 30. Vhile any suitable handle may be provided on the oscillating member 32 for the purpose of imparting motion to the same. a preferred manner of operating the same is by means of a removable bar and to this end the member is formed with a socket portion 37, to receive the end of a bar (35, as shown in the drawings, disposed below and in the same vertical plane as the pawls 33.

At one side of the said socket portion a laterally extending trunnion 38 is formed which extends inwardly within a hollow cylindrical bearing portion 39, outstanding from the bracket 31. The said bearing portion 39 is suitably braced to the base 40 of the bracket by means of a plurality of ribs 41, and in order to provide stability between the parts, the lower portion of the cylindrical port-ion 39 is extended beyond the main portion thereof and within the plane of the socket portion as indicated at 42, the undersurface of the socket portion having a cylindrical bearing portion 43 resting on the extension 42. The edges 44-44 of the extension 42 constitute stops for limiting the swinging movement of the member 32 in either direction, as will be seen from an inspection of Figure 5. The said member 32 is maintained in position relatively to its bracket 31 by means of a bolt 131.

The device for maintaining the shaft against reversal of movement during the door closing operation preferably consists of a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft and a cooperable weighted pawl 46 pivotally mounted on an arm 47, outstanding from a creeper 4r. Said creeper 48 is formed with oppositely disposed arms 47 and 49 and is mounted on the shaft intermediately of said arms in such a manner as to permit rotary motion of the shaft relatively to the creeper. Said arm 49 is for the purpose of maintaining the creeper against turning movement and to this end a guide 50 is provided within which the arm 49 is received said guide 50 being preferably formed in a flange 51 formed integrally with the slotted shaft bracket plate 28. Co-operable with the pawl 46, to lock the same in position with respect to its ratchet wheel 45, there is a safety cam 52 pivotally mounted on the creeper 48. Said pawl 46 and safety cam 52 are respectively mounted on bosses 53 formed integrally with the creeper and a plate 54 extending from one to the other of said bosses serves to effectively maintain the parts in their proper relation, said plate 54 being securedto the creeper by rivets 55 extending through the bosses. The two sets of devices as constructed are very compact and employ but little space longitudinally of the car and therefore are well adapted for use on a gondola car having doors extending from end to end. In cars of this type, it has heretofore been the practice to dispose the operating and locking mechanism on the exterior face of the end sill of the car but inasmuch as the projecting parts are in the way of and constitute an ever present source of danger to trainmen. when moving between cars, I have improved the construction of the car and mechanism by disposing the latter in a recess on the corner of the car. Said construction provides for the main body of end sill 56 terminating an appreciable distance from the side wall of the car as best shown in Figure 3 and the disposition of a transverse vertical wall 57 inwardly from the main body of the end sill and bridging the distance between the said wall 57 and end sill by awall 58, which is preferably formed by bending a portion'out of the main body portion of the wall 57 and connecting the same to the end sill by a vertically disposed anglemember 59; A connection between the vertical wall 57 and the edge floor plate 16 of the end wall 13 is also preferably made by bending a flange 60 from the main body of the said plate 57 and riveting the same to the flange 16. The said plate57 is preferably extended outwardlyand'connected to a vertical member 61 which is secured to the car side wall and may constitute one of the stiles of a side ladder formed by treads 62. The outer end of the flange 60 is bent upwardly as shown at 63 and secured to the corner flange -14 of the end wall 13. The lower portion of the vertical wall 58,

which extends below the end sill, is flanged outwardly as indicated at 64 providing additional stiffness for the depending portion of plate 57 and also providing for a greater sweep of the oscillating member 32 and pawls 33. By thus locating the shaft actuating and locking mechanism below the floor of the car and at the side of the ladder it will be apparent that a car of great load carrying capacity istsecured inasmuch as it i is not necessaryto reduce thelength of the 30 car for the application of the said mecha nism, while still retaining the same in a position which makes them readily accessible to the operator and out of the way of the falling load and largely protecting the same from snow and ice. 1 V

The operation of the device is as follows, assuming that the doors are closed and the parts positioned'as shown in Figurel with the outer pawl 33 in engaged position with the ratchet wheel 30. The operator first disengages lockingfpawl 46 from ratchet wheel 45 as shown in Figure 4, then inserts the. end of bar 65 in the socket 37 and presses downwardly on the end of said bar, thus rotating the member 32 from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Figure4 which has the effect of straightening out the toggle] formed "by the respective members 32 and 33, thereby rotating the shaft 24 due to the cooperating engagement between the end of the pawl 33 and the ratchet wheel 30,, as, will be understood. This operation is repeated until such time as a the shaft is dislodged from its supporting position beneath the doors and the weight of the doors then rotates the'shaft in its bearing through the flexible connection between the doors and shaft but inasmuch as the pawl 33 is free. to drop to an inoperative position by reason of its own weight, the rapidly revolving ratchet 30 kicks it out of engagement therewith and it falls by gravity thereby assuring safety to the operator. When the dump doors are in opened position, the shaft rests in the depressed portion of the bearing 28 Fig. 5 and the operation of'raising the doors to closed position is as follows: The weighted pawl'46 is first permitted to engage the ratchet wheel 45 and is maintained in operating relation therewith by means of the weighted portion of the pawl. The operator then manually positions the inner pawl 33 in engagement with the ratchet wheel 30 as shown in Figure 5 and a slight upward pressure on the end of the bar 'is suflicient to keep the pawl in en gagement with the ratchet wheel until the operator actually forces the bar upwardly thereby straightening the toggle formed by the respective arms 32 and 33 and moving the pawl 33 to the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5. This operation effects a rotation of the shaft through an arc of approximately 45 degrees and in order to effect further rotation of the shaft, the pressure on the bar is released and the pawl 33 then falls to an inoperative position by gravity and the oscillating member 32 and pawl 33 are again positioned as shown in full lines in Figure 5, and the operationof straightening out the toggle again repeated and until such time as the door is lifted to fully closed position and the shaft 24 has travelled inwardly to a supporting position beneath the door, being drawn inwardly thereunder by reason of the flexible element winding on the drum 27.

During such winding operation the shaft is maintained against rotation in an unwinding direction by reason of the cooperating engagement between the locking pawl 46 and the ratchet wheel45. i

hile I have shown one embodiment of my invention, it'is to be understood that the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes which come within the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto.

' I claim:

1. In a door operating mechanism, the combination with an operating shaft adapted to be reci rocated by rotation thereof; of a ratchet w 1661 secured to the shaft; and toggle mechanism co-operable with but mounted independently of the shaft, for inducing rotary movement of the shaft.

2'. In a door operating mechanism, the combination with an operating shaft adapted to be reciprocated by rotation thereof; of a pivoted member mounted independently of the shaft; a ratchet wheel'carried by the shaft; and a pawl adapted to engage the ratchet. wheel and react against the said member, said pawl being adapted to exert ed to be reciprocated by rotation thereof; of a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft; a pawl adapted to engage said ratchet wheel; and an oscillatable member mounted independently of said shaft, said member being operatively associated with the pawl in such manner that oscillation of the member in one direction will change the relative position between the pawl and the shaft. and thereby induce a rotary movement of the latter. 4

at. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a dump door; of a bodily movable shaft adapted to first raise the door and thereafter move bodily to supporting position beneath the door, said movement being effected by rotation of the shaft; a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft; a flexible connection between the shaft and the door; and toggle mechanism for operating said shaft, said mechanism including: an arm having pivotal engagement with a fixed por tion of the car structure, and another arm having one end in pivotal engagement with the first named arm and having the other end adapted to successively engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel to impart rotation to the shaft.

5. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operating shaft adapted to be reciprocated by rotation thereof; of a ratchet wheel on said shaft; an oscillatable member independent of the shaft; a plurality of pawls carried by the oscillatable member, one of said pawls being engageable with the ratchet wheel to rotate the shaft in one direction and the other pawl being engageable to rotate the shaft in the opposite direction.

6. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a rotatable operating shaft; of a ratchet wheel fixed to said shaft; an oscillatable member mounted independently of the shaft; a plurality of operating pawls mounted on said member, said pawls being mounted on a common pivot and oppositely disposed on the member and adapted to engage the ratchet wheel to rotate the shaft in opposite directions.

7. In a dump car door operating mechanism, the combination with an underframe; of a bodily movable rotatable shaft; a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft; an oscillatable member mounted on the underframe independently of the shaft; a pawl pivotally mounted on said member and co-operable with the ratchet wheel to rotate the same on oscillation of the said member; and means to limit. the oscillating movement of the said member at a predetermined point.

8. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a dump door; of a rotatable shaft disposed adjacent the free edge of the door, said shaft being mounted for bodily movement with reference to the car;

a flexible connection between the shaft and the door; toggle means for rotating the shaft, said toggle means including: an arm having one end pivoted at a fixed point on the car structure, a second arm pivoted to the opposite end of the first named arm, said second arm being engageable with the shaft at a point remote from its axis of rotation; and means carried by one of said arms for varying the angular relation between the respective arms.

9. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a dump door; of a rotatale shaft disposed adjacent the free edge of the door; a transverse vertical bracket plate through which the shaft extends; a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft; a bearing secured to and extending outwardly from the bracket plate; an oscillatable member having a lateral projection extending within the said bearing; and a pawl device operatively associated with the said ratchet wheel and the oscillatable member for inducing rotary movement of the shaft.

10. In a dump car door operating mechanism, the combination with a rotatable shaft; of a bracket plate disposed transversely of the shaft; locking mechanism for the shaft disposed adjacent the said bracket plate; shaft actuating mechanism disposed adjacent the locking mechanism, said actuating mechanism including: a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft, a member oscillatably mounted on the car structure independently of the shaft, and a pawl device co-operable with the said member and with the ratchet wheel on the shaft for the purpose of rotating the said shaft, said oscillating member being supported on a bearing rigidly secured to the bracket plate and extended outwardly therefrom across the plane of the shaft locking mechanism.

11. In a railway car, the combination with side and end walls; of an end sill having near the outer end thereof a recess defined by a transversely extending vertical wall portion spaced inwardly from the main body of the end sill, a connecting wall bridging the space between the said transverse wall and the main body of the end sill, and the floor of the car; a dumping door hinged to the car; a bodily movable shaft extending lengthwise of the car adjacent the free edge of the door, said shaft extending through the said transversely extending wall portion; an elongated slotted bracket for supporting the shaft carried by the transversely extending wall; a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft; a creeper carried by the shaft, and provided with an arm extending outwardly therefrom, said arm extending through the said connecting wall; a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft; a pawl pivoted to the creeper; and means disposed adjacent the creeper for actuating the shaft.

12. In a railway carhaving a side wall; a horizontally disposed main floor portion, an end wall, said end wall having an inwardly directed edge floor portion in alignment with the main floor and an end vsill having an inwardly ofl set portion commencing an appreciable distance from the said side wall to provide a recess at the corner of the car; the combination with a dumping door; of a shaft for raising said door; and mechanism for actuating the shaft, said mechanism being disposed beneath the inwardly directed edge floor portion of the end wall and in the recess provided by the inwardly Jofiset end sill.

13. In a railway car having side walls,

7 end walls, and a floor'composed of a main of the car and spaced inwardly a limited distance from the end wall of the car; and shaft actuating mechanism disposed intermediately of the said bracket plate and the plane defining the end wall of the car.

14. In a railwaycar having side walls and end walls each including a main floor section, inwardly directed'edge floor portions in alignment with the main floor section, the combination with a door hinged centrally of the car and overlapping the said edge floor portions of the respective side and end walls; of a shaft disposed adjacent the free edge of the door and below the level of the said edge floor portions; a vertical plate extending transversely of the car and spaced inwardly from the end wall of the car and adjacent the side edge of the door; and shaft actuating mechanismdisposed between the said bracket plate and the vertical plane defining the car end walls.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 11th day of December 1923. c

GEORGE B. DOREY. 

